July 11th, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Emergency Committee to Stop Gulf Oil Disaster
Press Contact: 504.644.7214
www.stopgulfoildisaster.org
ATTN: News Desk
Protest of Obama Commission Hearings on Oil Spill
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What: Press Conference and Picket Line Protest with VISUAL DEMANDS and PRESS STATEMENT from Emergency Committee to Stop Gulf Oil Disaster
Where: Hilton Riverside Hotel, 2 Poydras St.
When: 8:30 AM - Emergency Committee also plans to speak at public comment session in afternoon
July 11, 2010 - New Orleans, LA – The Emergency Committee to Stop the Gulf Oil Disaster will protest the opening public hearings of an Obama-appointed commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in New Orleans on Monday, calling on people to voice their demands and concerns, and to stand up and be a part of mounting a society-wide battle to stop the catastrophe.
Monday's hearing promises to begin an investigation of the root causes of the oil blow-out and the best ways to combat the disaster, as well as a status report from Coast Guard and BP reps on the progress of cleanup and containment. Yet according to Emergency Committee member NOLA resident Robert Desmarais Sullivan, “Neither BP nor the government have been transparent or truthful during the crisis.”
The Committee is calling for independent scientific studies to be given rapid technical evaluation and full support for timely implementation – including immediate support for the proposal by Dr. Ira Leifer of UC Santa Barbara and the Flow Rate Assessment Team to have leading scientists access the Deepwater Horizon well site and directly study the oil flow and its fate in the water column. “Such hypothesis-driven scientific studies are urgently needed to assess the true scope of this disaster and evaluate clean up and remediation,” said author and Committee member Larry Everest. “Yet so far Dr. Leifer’s proposal has been delayed and blocked by BP, which has refused to discuss its scientific merit and importance to ensuring that the response to this crisis is based on the best available science. This is intolerable.”
“We call on people everywhere to question the government and BP’s response, and to demand transparency,” said Elizabeth Cook, a Committee member and NOLA resident, “particularly on dispersants, which are toxic and being used massively, despite the fact that there have few if any definitive studies of their effects on human and marine life.” Committee member and NOLA resident Kimberly Wolf states, “If one reviews the Material Safety Data Sheet on the dispersant Corexit 9500, it becomes clear that we are – in effect – being used as guinea pigs.”
The Emergency Committee is demanding 1) Utilize all resources to confront the oil catastrophe; 2) Stop dispersant use now; 3) Full access for independent scientists; 4) No lies, no cover-up, no censorship – full transparency. 5) Protect public health. 6) Stop Gulf oil drilling - compensation for all impacted. 7) Prosecute oil disaster crimes.
